Unfunny and unoriginal.
Trivial country-club romance from the English author of Drop Dead Gorgeous (2002) and Moving to the Country (2001).
Suzi and Liam and Estelle and Michael meet regularly for mixed doubles, followed by stiff gin-and-tonics (and some anxious consideration of the possible vulgarity of excessive exercise). The snakes in this rolled-lawn Eden: old-school types in blazers who refuse to relinquish control of the charmingly antiquated tennis club to youthful upstarts in nylon track suits. Yet the game’s the thing, and the foursome plays on—but the grass is decidedly greener on the other court to at least one of them. Suzi frets—she’s very much in the middle. Temperamental, red-haired Estelle is her partner in a struggling antiques shop, Liam is her brother, and Michael her lover (whom she doesn’t love). Estelle and Liam, the latter a dedicated schoolteacher, are on the outs; in fact, Estelle has gone so far as to suggest that they all might play more interesting games with some, ahem, new blood. When Liam openly ogles an upper-class blond (despite his Socialist politics), Estelle ditches him. What next, wonders Suzi, who’s more or less content with her relationship with Michael, an immature pharmaceutical exec who plays rock ’n’ roll in pubs and longs to become a middle-aged Mick Jagger. Should she surrender to the raffish, carrot-topped charms of Josh, a strapping contender for her man of the moment, or just keep plugging on with Michael? Though she does have other things to worry about, what with Stan and Terry, the working-class proprietors of a competing shop they’ve just opened next door. And they have the unmitigated gall to advertise. That’s not all: it’s entirely possible that Josh and Estelle might pair off at any moment. After all, they’re both redheads, and one need look no further than that for character motivation, right? Then Liam discovers that long-legged blonds aren’t everything, and Estelle, bored with sulking, returns. Will Josh win Suzi? Will Michael follow his dream? Will Stan and Terry ever stop sweating?
Unfunny and unoriginal.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-312-31154-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Michaels’s cluttered style has been noticeably trimmed this time around, which keeps the over-the-top plot moving right...
Good brother, bad brother.
It’s 1984: Rick, a wild young Hollywood star and all-around stud, is boozing heavily and secretly doing drugs—but he’s been warned. His controlling, money-mad, hyper-responsible older brother Philly isn’t going to bail him out next time, or square things with that dated entity referred to only as “the studio.” Skip to 1999: Rick’s sobered up and he’s still going strong. “He had a tinge of gray at his temples these days, but the studio expertly covered it up.” (The prolific Michaels may have been too busy churning out bestsellers to notice that studios haven’t kept actors under contract for decades, but never mind.) Rick skips the dye job, however, when Philly dies in an accident and leaves most of his estate to his ne’er-do-well brother, who gives up acting and takes over the resorts-for-the-rich that Philly was developing, though Roxy, Philly’s trashy wife, resents him for it. Ditto Reba, Roxy’s plastic surgeon daughter: Philly was like a father to her but he didn’t leave her much money. Well, what the hell, Rick wants to make everyone happy and redeem himself, so he lets Roxy take over the Crown Jewel, their flagship island resort—and he makes peace with Max and Tyler, the grown sons who never knew him (Philly paid off their mothers), then befriends tough but cute reporter Gracie Lick, and investigates the mystery of Philly’s parentage. Gee, Philly was adopted! Can it be true that Philly’s real mother, 14 when he was born, is now married to aged billionaire Armand Farquar? And did the young Lorraine rescue her newborn son from a Dumpster when her heartless lover tossed him in and then bravely give him up for adoption? She did! And is her lover, Philly’s father, now the Vice President of the United States? He is! Will reporter Gracie Lick take this unlikely story and run with it? She will!
Michaels’s cluttered style has been noticeably trimmed this time around, which keeps the over-the-top plot moving right along. For the fans.Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2003
ISBN: 0-7434-5779-X
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2003
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.
Reid’s latest (After I Do, 2014, etc.) explores two parallel universes in which a young woman hopes to find her soul mate and change her life for the better.
After ending an affair with a married man, Hannah Martin is reunited with her high school sweetheart, Ethan, at a bar in Los Angeles. Should she go home with her friends and catch up with him later, or should they stay out and have another drink? It doesn’t seem like either decision would have earth-shattering consequences, but Reid has a knack for finding skeletons in unexpected closets. Two vastly different scenarios play out in alternating chapters: in one, Hannah and Ethan reconnect as if no time has passed; in the other, Hannah lands in the hospital alone after a freak accident that marks the first of many surprising plot twists. Hannah’s best friend, Gabby, believes in soul mates, and though Hannah has trouble making decisions—even when picking a snack from a vending machine—she and Gabby discover how their belief systems can alter their world as much as their choices. “Believing in fate is like living on cruise control,” Hannah says. What follows is a thoughtful analysis of free will versus fate in which Hannah finds that disasters can bring unexpected blessings, blessings can bring unexpected disasters, and that most people are willing to bring Hannah her favorite cinnamon rolls. “Because even when it looks like she’s made a terrible mistake,” Hannah’s mother observes, “things will always work out for Hannah.” The larger question becomes whether Hannah’s choices will ultimately affect her happiness—and it’s one that’s answered on a hopeful note as Hannah tries to do the right thing in every situation she faces.
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4767-7688-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Washington Square/Pocket
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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